By Obegi Malack
obegimalack@gmail.com
Waste recycling has started at Ngong new market to curb waste menace that had for years plagued traders and customers alike.
County government of Kajiado had been faced with criticism on waste management in towns due to failure to manage waste in towns and markets which are among the main producers of large amount of waste.
The county has now found a solution to mountains of waste produced at the Ngong modern market.
Speaking exclusively to the County Shopper Ngong Municipality manager Mr David Kubaai he said: “ Waste in markets will be managed by recycling it.”
He said that they have entered into an agreement with a recycler, Biogas International (Flexi Biogas) to recycle waste from the new market.
The municipality had allocated them a site near the stadium to recycle the waste.
The CEO Dominic Wanjihia says he wants to address the organic waste problem by recycling it to prevent poisoning of rivers in the county.
The programme Green Ngong Project is set to manage all the waste generated from the modern market with the aim of 0 wastes going to dumpsites.
“Garbage dumping sites contain 80% of organic materials that is why recycling of the waste is very essential,” he explained.
He said people should stop burning organic materials from the farms.
The Ngong market produces up to three tons of waste every day, the waste is collected and separated into hard and soft organic matter which include vegetables and fruits.
The soft organic matter is recycled to produce gas and liquid fertilizer which can be used in farms and the hard organic waste is recycled to produce compost manure. They also collect plastic bottles which are used to in gardens to economize usage of soil. The biogas is used in a communal kitchen which is mostly used by market women.
Edwin Manjala one of the company’s senior officers told County Shopper that since the project started in January 2021 in the Ngong and they have been able to manage all waste produced by the market and no waste has been taken out of the market. They now transport waste from the modern market to the recycling site using a tuk tuk.
The recycling market facility has five people from the Ngong locality who operate the recycling machines and, at the same, educate local people on benefits of waste recycling.
The company plans to train more youths to recycle the other waste materials, such as electronic waste and art materials, which they will sell as artists. They are looking forward to county government support to get access all markets in the county to instal the recycling facility.
CEO Wanjihia says: “Our company’s goal is to help alleviate poverty using affordable, efficient and reliable green energy technologies and promote sustainable livelihoods to families mostly in the developing nations.” They have also installed biogas system (flexi biogas) in many homes which use waste.
The company had installed biogas digester at Naikara Primary School in Maasai Mara in partnership with Action Africa Help International.